The Kickham Comment - Boston Criminal Attorney Blog
Amazing how a new expression or grammatical term can crop up almost literally overnight, isn’t it? The newest term that seems to be on everyone’s lips today: “Upskirting.” Seemingly a new verb that would have been met with confused looks just yesterday, now seems to be somehow thrown around as if it were “snowboarding” or […]
Search Results for: marijuana
Massachusetts Domestic Violence Charges: Many Police Departments Turn a Blind Eye to Their Officers’ Own Problems – Part Two of Two
In my previous post on this subject, I wrote about how, for a variety of reasons that are both wise, and also some unwise, police departments these days are extremely aggressive when it comes to responding to reports of domestic violence. It is almost standard procedures these days that, when patrol officers respond to a […]
COORDINATED POLICE DRUG RAIDS RESULT IN 31 MASSACHUSETTS DRUG ARRESTS
The War on Drugs in this country is something that I have repeatedly criticized as ineffective, only empowering drug lords (both foreign and here in Massachusetts) and destined to failure. That doesn’t mean that I don’t think that law enforcement should play “any” role in Massachusetts drug crimes. It means that we should back off […]
MASSACHUSETTS SUPREME COURT CLEARS THE AIR: PUBLIC POT SMOKING IS NO CRIME
Despite the fact that public possession or use of less than an ounce of marijuana in Massachusetts was decriminalized by voters in 2008, police departments and District Attorneys’ offices around the state have still seemed intent on prosecuting people any way they can for the private, recreational use of small amounts of pot. This has […]
GOV. PATRICK’S DECISION ON THREE STRIKES CRIME BILL: THE RIGHT ONE.
By now, most people know that Governor Deval Patrick has agreed to sign the “Three Strikes” crime bill that the Legislature originally delivered to him last week. He had sent the bill back to the Legislature with an amendment to provide judicial discretion in sentencing certain habitual offenders who have been convicted more than three […]
Two Deaths Occur At Comcast Center Music Festival
Last Thursday (July 26 2012,) two people died and approximately 20 people were hospitalized, when the “Identity Theft” music tour held at the Comcast Center in Mansfield erupted into what has been described as blizzard of alcohol and drug use. The Comcast Center holds about 20,000 people. The Mansfield Police Chief stated that alcohol and […]
Massachusetts Alleged Mobster Expected To Plead Guilty
A Massachusetts man, who allegedly hails from New York’s famous Colombo crime family, is expected to plead guilty next week, to charges of racketeering conspiracy, which are related to alleged large-scale drug trafficking in Massachusetts. Next Thursday, Ralph DeLeo of Somerville, is expected to plead guilty in U. S. District Court in Boston to his […]
MassachusettsTraffic Violations: SJC Rules Drivers Must Pay For Ticket Appeals.
This isn’t exactly breaking news, but it’s something worth reminding my readers of. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) recently handed down a ruling on a challenge to the state imposing a fee to get a hearing on a motor vehicle offense or traffic violation. Drivers seeking to appeal a citation in front of a […]
Mandatory Jail Sentences for Drug Convictions Within 1000 Feet of School Must Change
Just last week, I criticized Gov. Deval Patrick for his proposal to change the way public defenders are provided for indigent criminal defendants. Today, I want to do just the opposite: Commend him for another of his proposals dealing with criminal law. Specifically, Gov. Patrick should be lauded for his legislative initiative to repeal the […]
Massachusetts Drug Crimes: Bar Association Study Makes Clear: The War On Drugs Has Failed; New Policies Needed – Part One of One.
As the Enterprise News made clear in an editorial last week, change begins with telling the truth. And the truth on this subject – the glaring truth – is that drug crime polices, both in Massachusetts and across the nation – have been essentially a complete failure, and a waste of hundreds of millions of […]